Mer-men and voodoo: Monkey Island Episode 2 reviewed

Tales of Monkey Island returns with The Siege of Spinner Cay, an episode that …

When we last left our intrepid pirate hero Guybrush Threepwood, he had just escaped the mysterious winds of Flotsam Island and was setting off to rescue his wife Elaine from the evil clutches of LeChuck. The second episode of Telltale's Tales of Monkey Island, The Siege of Spinner Cay, picks up directly after these events—you even have the exact same items in your inventory as at the end of the previous game—where bad luck continues to follow our mighty pirate.

The game kicks off with a great opening credit sequence, in which Threepwood is sidetracked in his rescue mission by a bounty hunter who wants his hand, literally. This has the three-pronged effect of ridding Guybrush of the voodoo pox that had infested his hand, leaving him with a suitably pirate-looking hook replacement, and causing him to lose his wedding ring.

Things don't get easier from that point, though. Once he is reunited with his wife, Guybrush takes on the task of ridding the Caribbean of the voodoo pox once and for all, which is much easier said than done. Along the way he's forced to deal with a humanized LeChuck, a town of androgynous mer-people, and some not-so-bright pox-ridden pirates.

Where the first episode served as an introduction to the series, giving players just one island to explore, The Siege of Spinner Cay is much more diverse. Now armed with a ship of his own, Threepwood can travel between several different islands, each of which are fairly different from one another, if a bit on the small side. This helps add some much-needed variety, though players will still find themselves traipsing through the jungle a bit too much, as in the previous game.

As for the writing and puzzles, they too are a step above episode one. The tale is much more epic and interesting, but once again finishes on a great cliffhanger that makes the wait for episode three that much harder. The relationship between Elaine and the newly reformed LeChuck is a very curious one, and something that almost certainly will be explored more in the future. The jokes are sharp and the puzzles much less frustrating.

While it plays and looks exactly the same as the first game, The Siege of Spinner Cay is a step up in almost every regard. It's funnier, has less frustrating puzzles, and gives players more things to do and places to go. Basically, if you liked the first episode, you'll probably enjoy this one even more. It's a very satisfying few hours and hopefully Telltale can continue this forward momentum with the remaining three episodes.